Suryavanshi has begun with a bang, now it’s about sustaining it

Kolkata: One can’t have enough of Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s 18 boundary hits, but Sachin Tendulkar watches the game through a different lens. He picks out Vaibhav’s “fearless approach, bat speed, picking the length early, and transferring the energy behind the ball” as the recipe behind Monday’s 35-ball century – youngest to triple figures in IPL and the second fastest knock. Is this the watershed moment for Indian cricket seeking its next big generational talent?

This moment could well be the sensational start, but history advises us of the pitfalls, those who flattered to deceive. Even in IPL which established itself as the brave new world of cricket 18 years ago.

And there are many who didn’t fulfil their promise. Suryavanshi is 14, rough around the edges but confident, supremely talented with a cool head on his shoulders. The potential is massive. Note to self though: he may not be here to play all formats. You can dissect it from his attitude, shot selection, boundary conversion rate. To be able to hit the ball so hard and so long requires a staunch belief that nothing less than a boundary would suffice. Virender Sehwag used to walk the talk, but he also was sensible to present the full face of the bat in defence. Can Suryavanshi do that?

For now though revel in the audacity of the teenager who on Monday night made an experienced, high-quality bowling attack look school level. The comparison may not be straightforward, but it is too tempting not to recall Tendulkar, who as a 16-year-old captivated the cricket world with his defiance of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis at Karachi.

Suryavanshi is 14. Bowling to him was an attack that comprised an India pace spearhead not too many seasons back, India’s No. 2 fast bowler, and the best spinner in T20 cricket. He got sixes off all of them, some premeditated and streaky but mostly by virtue of a mesmerising combination of minimal reaction time and maximum connection. Suryavanshi wasn’t holding back. And he doesn’t really care about the ground dimensions either. “What I’ve been practicing for the last three-four months, the result is showing,” he said after the match. “I don’t see the ground so much, just focus on the ball.”

We have seen this bent of mind before but with Suryavanshi it seems organic. Which is symbolic of how the concept of batting has kept changing. It resembles nothing that we had seen in 2008, or in the subsequent few years. Virat Kohli can switch between all out attack and grafting. Even Yashasvi Jaiswal, every bit a modern batter, adapts, adjusts and waits for his turn. Suryavanshi might be the first of the IPL generation who isn’t built to slow down, or wait for the right ball.

Take the six he hit off Rashid Khan to get to his hundred (off 35 balls in a 38-ball 101). It was a bit short alright, but there was deep midwicket in place because by then all of Jaipur knew the teenager loves to rock back and pull. To go for it again despite being on the cusp of the most important personal milestone shows the sheer belief ignoring the risk. Prudence is not something one develops at 14, but in Suryavanshi’s case it might not be in his system altogether. It is probably fine now because cricket is not just about becoming a technically complete batter anymore.

The early signs of providing a riveting narrative — another Bihar boy after MS Dhoni (his domestic debut was for Bihar) taking the world by storm with range hitting and an incredibly aggressive attitude towards quality bowlers. “He’s been exactly like what you’ve seen him on the pitch,” former India batting coach Vikram Rathour, now with RR, told the media after the match. “He isn’t intimidated by anyone in the nets. He takes on Jofra (Archer), who is one of the toughest bowlers to face in the nets; awkward and quick.”

We have heard this story 36 years ago. We now have another teenager with a cherubic face, fearless, eager and armed with a scintillating range of shots. This at a time when the talent turnover of India is exceptionally high. This hundred thus could be the best thing to happen to Suryavanshi’s life, or not so good. Building on this brilliance display is the challenge.

But to stay relevant will be tougher. Consistency of performance outlives every other metric. The quicker Suryavanshi learns it, the better.